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Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do (Cantonese Chinese, Jitkyùndou, literally meaning, Way of the Intercepting Fist): An American hybrid fighting system with direct, nonclassical, and straightforward movements based on a compilation of different techniques from various fighting systems, that is under the philosophy of individual self-expression that practices a greater emphasis on elusiveness and simplified trapping. It emphasizes concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics with simplicity, directness and efficiency. With Modified Wing Chun Chung Chuie (Straight Blast), Trapping, Modern Wooden Dummy Forms, Chi Sao, Sil Lum Tao, economy of straight line, nucleus fighting, & Chi Sao (two halves of one whole), Western Boxing & defense (variations of the jab, cross, hook, uppercut, and overhand used in combinations, catches/parries, covers, slips, bobs, weaves, ducks, rolls, tremendous hand speed, knockout power, conditioning program using jump ropes, focus mitts, heavy bag, shadowboxing, Efficent footwork, shoulder/chin in protection, plus all-purpose parry and block stance, in-fighting, & sparring), & Fencing footwork (fast, light and shifty) and skillful use of front lead (study auxiliary supplemented guarding hand in each position), Timing & Cadence, Foil, Epee as the core of the system, Jeet Kune Do encourages the practitioner to further develop one's abilities through those(these) teachings, and have adopted some of the various martial arts techniques into its teachings that were deemed the simplest and most economical in the four combat ranges of kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling such as Northern Praying Mantis, Southern Praying Mantis, Choy Lay Fut, Savate, Muay Thai (Elbows & Knees, Actual Combat), Wrestling (Leg Tackle, uncripsy economic rush, protective shell while moving in, strangulation, and hold & locks), Aikido (Throwing, Takedowns, Sweeps, Jointlocking, Chokes, the flow, the two halves of one whole, the footwork, and strangles.), Judo (Balance, Osoto, Foot Sweeps, and Mat Work & chokes), Small Circle Jujitsu, Wu-Style Tai Chi Chuan (Esoteric, The Flow), Che-Style Xingyi, Chin Na, Eagle Claw, Pangamut, Shotokan Karate (Tool Development, Balance & Form, Front Kick & thrust), Tae Kwon Do (Kicking Flexibility, Turning Heel Kick, Head Ram), Kendo (the zen approach, the determined clash, the footwork), Kali, & some of the more refined kicks of the Northern & Southern Chinese styles. The inherent training principles are based on the individual's personal preferences and physical attributes are shaped by the philosophy of "style without style", the entire "system" can be described through a simple diagram, and can then be applied to a variety of contexts in a "universal" way. The practitioner can then adapt by developing from other fighting systems and martial arts. The art was made to expand, it is consisted of several techniques from several styles but with an American way of evolution and roots. This was meant to be fluid as water and as effective and unpredictable as the ancient arts used to be with no set patterns and/or movements. This means that at both close and medium ranges which they will find themselves trying for a more tactile response and should be able to "read" their opponents responses and reply with the necessary techniques. This also deals with such internal aspects as chi focusing. Jeet Kune Do has a standardized system of techniques, drills, and exercises. The emphasis of Jeet Kune Do is the expression of the individual through efficient motion, through the different ranges of combat (kicking, punching, elbows/knees, trapping/clinch, and takedowns). By prescribing to the method of training attributes the practitioner gains increasing levels of proficiency in, body sensitivity, the scientific implementation of body mechanics and the intelligent application of force and movement through ranges of combat and time. Through this “way”, the student will learn the principals of attack and defense by practicing and applying Jeet Kune Do’s five methods of attack (ABC, SDA, HIA, PIA, and ABD). Included in the curriculum are trapping hands, and kickboxing. By utilizing the five ways of attack the student is able to fight while moving from different ranges of engagement during combat. The goal is to learn to honestly express oneself in training, combat and life. Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is the name Bruce Lee gave to his combat philosophy in 1967. Originally, when Lee first began research into fighting styles, he gave his martial art his own name of Jun Fan Gung Fu. JKD as it survives today – if one wants to view it "refined" as a product, not a process – is what was left at the time of Bruce Lee's death. It is the result of the life-long martial arts development process Lee went through. Bruce Lee stated that his concept is not an "adding to" of more and more things on top of each other to form a system, but rather, a winnowing out. The metaphor Lee borrowed from Chan Buddhism was of constantly filling a cup with water, and then emptying it, used for describing Lee's philosophy of "casting off what is useless". He also used the sculptor's mentality of beginning with a lump of clay and hacking away at the "unessentials"; the end result was what he considered to be the bare combat essentials, or JKD. Bruce Lee, and thus JKD, was heavily influenced by Western Boxing and Fencing. Although the backbone concepts (such as centerline, vertical punching, and forward pressure) come from Wing Chun, Lee stopped using the Wing Chun stances in favor of what he claimed were more fluid/flexible boxing and fencing stances. The claim is that they allowed him to "flow", not to be stuck in stances. For instance, instead of using footwork to position the body for maximum fighting position vis-a-vis the opponent, JKD uses flowing "entries" that do not require "bridges" from Wing Chun. Bruce Lee wanted to create a martial art that was unbounded and free. Later during the development of Jeet Kune Do, he would expand that notion and include the art for personal development, not just to become a better fighter. To illustrate Lee's views, in a 1971 Black Belt Magazine article, Lee said "Let it be understood once and for all that I have NOT invented a new style, composite or modification. I have in no way set Jeet Kune Do within a distinct form governed by laws that distinguish it from 'this' style or 'that' method. On the contrary, I hope to free my comrades from bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines." While practicing Western Wrestling, Lee was once pinned by a more skillful opponent, who asked what Lee would do if he found himself in the situation in a real fight. Lee replied, "Well, I'd bite you, of course". One of the theories of JKD is that a fighter should do whatever is necessary to defend himself, regardless of where the techniques used come from. Lee's goal in Jeet Kune Do was to break down what he claimed were limiting factors in the training of the traditional styles, and seek a fighting thesis which he believed could only be found within the event of a fight. Jeet Kune Do is currently seen as the genesis of the modern state of hybrid martial arts. Jeet Kune Do not only advocates the combination of aspects of different styles, it also has to change many of those aspects that it adopts to suit the abilities of the practitioner. Additionally, JKD advocates that any practitioner be allowed to interpret techniques for themselves, and change them for their own purposes. For example, Lee almost always chose to put his power hand in the "lead," with his weaker hand back, within this stance he used elements of Boxing, Fencing and Wing Chun. Just like fencing, he labeled this position the "On Guard" position. Lee incorporated this position into his JKD, as he felt it provided the best overall mobility. Lee felt that the dominant or strongest hand should be in the lead because it would perform a greater percentage of the work. Lee minimized the use of other stances except when circumstances warranted such actions. Although the On-Guard position is a good overall stance, it is by no means the only one. Lee acknowledged that there were times when other positions should be utilized. Lee felt the dynamic property of JKD was what enabled its practitioners to adapt to the constant changes and fluctuations of live combat. Lee believed that these decisions should be done within the context of "real combat" and/or "all out sparring". He believed that it was only in this environment that a person could actually deem a technique worthy of adoption. Bruce Lee did not stress the memorization of solo training forms or "Kata", as most traditional styles do in their beginning-level training. Lee often compared doing forms without an opponent to attempting to learn to swim on dry land. Lee believed that "real" combat was "alive" and "dynamic". Circumstances in a fight change from millisecond to millisecond, and thus pre-arranged patterns and techniques are not adequate in dealing with such a changing situation. As an anecdote to this thinking, Lee once wrote an epitaph which read: 'In memory of a once fluid man, crammed and distorted by the classical mess.' The "classical mess" in this instance was what Lee thought of classical martial arts. Bruce Lee's comments and methods were seen as controversial by many in his time, and still are today. Many teachers from traditional schools disagreed with his opinions on these issues. The notion of cross-training in Jeet Kune Do is similar to the practice of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in modern times -- Bruce Lee has been considered by UFC president Dana White as the "father of mixed martial arts". Many consider Jeet Kune Do to be the precursor of MMA. This is particularly the case with respect to the JKD "Combat Ranges". A JKD student is expected to learn various combat systems within each combat range, and thus to be effective in all of them, just as in MMA. History JKD as it survives today – if one wants to view it "refined" as a product, not a process – is what was left at the time of Bruce Lee's death. It is the result of the life-long martial arts development process Lee went through. Bruce Lee stated that his concept is not an "adding to" of more and more things on top of each other to form a system, but rather, a winnowing out. The metaphor Lee borrowed from Chan Buddhism was of constantly filling a cup with water, and then emptying it, used for describing Lee's philosophy of "casting off what is useless". He also used the sculptor's mentality of beginning with a lump of clay and hacking away at the "unessentials"; the end result was what he considered to be the bare combat essentials, or JKD. Bruce Lee believed that traditional martial arts training was too rigid to be completely effective in real-world combat. To create a style he considered more realistic for streetfighting, he began experimenting with what he had studied until then (mostly Wing Chun,Western Boxing, and Western Fencing) as well as his own innovations. At first he called this new style Jun Fan Gung Fu (Lee Jun Fan being his name in Cantonese.) Later, he decided it had become sufficiently unique and different from all other styles of Kung Fu to qualify as a new, separate martial art which he called Jeet Kune Do, which literally means "The Way of The Intercepting Fist." Techniques The most distinctive feature of Jeet Kune Do is that students are trained to fight usually with the strong side in front. In other words, a right-handed student is taught to fight mainly with his right side in front. The idea is for the JKD student to use his strong lead to overpower and dominate the weak-side lead of a typical opponent, thus giving the JKD fighter an advantage. Otherwise, most JKD techniques, besides Lee's own innovations, are borrowed from various styles of Kung Fu, plus Western Boxing, Muay Thai, Fencing, Savate, Jujutsu, Western Wrestling, and martial arts from The Philippines. Like Wing Chun, JKD favors the "vertical punch". The "one-inch punch" is also taught. The principles of JKD include economy of motion, simplicity, linear attacks, striking and blocking at the same time, and the idea of the "centerline," a concept inherited from Wing Chun. Training An eclectic style, Bruce Lee included the wooden dummy and chi sao training of Wing Chun in JKD, as well as heavy bag training and most other training regimens found in the various styles that Lee favored. Technique Key principles Economy of motion; Jeet Kune Do students are told to waste no time or movement. When it comes to combat, JKD practitioners believe the simplest things work best. Stop hits; This means intercepting an opponent's attack with an attack of your own instead of a simple block. JKD practitioners believe that this is the most difficult defensive skill to develop. Simultaneous parrying & punching; When confronting an incoming attack, the attack is parried or deflected and a counter attack is delivered at the same time. Not as advanced as a stop hit but more effective than blocking and counter attacking in sequence. This is also practiced by some Chinese martial arts. No high kicks; JKD practitioners believe they should target their kicks to their opponent's shins, knees, thighs, and mid section. These targets are the closest to the foot, provide more stability and are more difficult to defend against. However, as with all other JKD principles nothing is "written in stone". If a target of opportunity presents itself, even a target above the waist, one could take advantage of the situation without feeling hampered by this principle. Four Ranges of Combat - Kicking - Punching - Trapping - Grappling Five Ways of Attack Single Angular Attack (SAA) and its converse Single Direct Attack (SDA). Hand Immobilization Attack (HIA) and its counterpart Foot Immobilization attack, which make use of trapping to limit the opponent's function with that appendage. Progressive Indirect Attack (PIA). Attacking one part of the opponent's body followed by attacking another part as a means of creating an opening. Attack By Combinations (ABC). This is using multiple rapid attacks, with volume of attack as a means of overcoming the opponent. Attack By Drawing (ABD). This is creating an opening with positioning as a means of counter attacking. Three Properties of Jeet Kune Do; JKD practitioners believe that techniques should contain the following properties: * Efficiency - An attack that reaches its mark * Directness - Doing what comes naturally in a learned way. * Simplicity - Thinking in an uncomplicated manner; without ornamentation. Centerline; The centerline refers to an imaginary line running down the center of one's body. The theory is to exploit, control and dominate your opponent's centerline. All attacks, defenses and footwork are designed to preserve your own centerline and open your opponent's. Lee incorporated this theory into JKD from Wing Chun. This notion is closely related to maintaining control of the center squares in the strategic game chess. The three guidelines for centerline are: * The one who controls the centerline will control the fight. * Protect and maintain your own centerline while you control and exploit your opponent's. * Control the centerline by occupying it. Variations Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do: A signature version of Jeet Kune Do as Bruce taught privately to Ted Wong. This is a later time period and practices a greater emphasis on elusiveness and simplified trapping unique to Bruce's later approach to combat and encourages the student to further develop his or herself and abilities through those teachings. The inherent training principles of this branch are shaped by the concepts of what was "originally taught", by Bruce Lee, which does include such concepts as absorbing what is useful and discarding what isn’t. The focus is with Wing Chun, Western Boxing, and Fencing. '' ''Jeet Kune Do Concepts: An offshoot of the Original Jeet Kune Do that specializes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Kali, Maphilindo Silat, and several other arts. It also emphasizes individual self-expression through re-interpretation of combat systems through the lens of Jeet Kune Do, under the concept that it was never meant to be a static art, but rather an ongoing evolution, and have incorporated elements from many other martial arts into the manifold of its teachings. The Inherent training principles are based on the individual’s personal preferences and physical attributes are shaped by the philosophy of “style without style”, the entire Jeet Kune Do “system” can be described through a simple diagram, and can then be applied to variety of contexts in a “universal” way. Jeet Kune Do Concepts practitioners believe that there are further principles that can be added to construct personalized systems. Jeet Kune Do Concepts gives a person a one-shop stop, however, there is greater variability and amount in teachings that has the entire spectrum of strategies and techniques. Category:Fighting Styles